> as lemmas

a1856 in Olmsted Slave States (1861) ii. 38 ‘This way, gentlemen—this way!’..and the company immediately hived off to the second establishment.

1864 Cornhill Mag. Nov. 621 These emigrants are part of the swarm which annually hives off from the west.

1902 Westm. Gaz. 10 July 9/1 The Board is now hiving off to a mine with at least a promising name, the ‘Baron Rothschild’, in the Tati district.

1931 Economist 5 Dec. 1060/2 And even Syrai Proper has been made to hive off the autonomous Governments of the Jebel Druse and Alexandretta.

1937 Nature 16 Oct. 659/1 Experimental psychology..has hived off from physiology.

1951 Engineering 28 Sept. 403/2 The..firm..was ‘hived off’ from the parent company.

1957 Economist 30 Nov. 783/2 It will be remembered that, while part of the Moroccan Liberation Army..agreed to incorporation in the Royal Moroccan army, another part preferred to hive off and disappear into remote areas.

1959 J. Halas & R. Manvell Technique Film Animation xix. 257 Many animators with a flair for individual work have hived off from these studios.

1959 Duke of Bedford Silver-plated Spoon x. 201 The trustees were slowly hiving off part of the family estates to meet the awful burden of taxation.

1961 T. Landau Encycl. Librarianship (ed. 2) 146/1 Large public library systems are increasingly ‘hiving off’ special sections dealing with foreign literature.

1963 Times 20 Apr. 7/6 The territorial wings of the U.F.P. in Northern and Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland would now ‘hive off’ with ‘full authority to act for themselves’ under new names.

1969 New Scientist 1 May 262/2 The large machines are beginning to sprout small sideshoots on to which specialized tasks can be hived off.

1971 Times 21 Dec. 14/3 Strong opposition to the British Steel Corporation's plans to hive off part of the River Don works at Sheffield..is likely to be encountered.